Observations are a fundamental aspect of early years education, offering insights into children's development, interests, and needs. This class aims to delve into various observation methods and their significance in providing tailored support and enriching learning experiences for young learners. Through a series of lessons, participants will explore why observations are vital, different observational techniques, and their practical application in educational settings.
1. Why Observations are Important
05:53In the introductory lesson, we delve into the fundamental role of observations in early years education, offering insights into children's development, interests, and needs. We emphasise the significance of observations in tracking developmental progress and informing individualised learning and support. By understanding the rationale behind observations, practitioners can effectively plan activities and continuous provision that cater to each child's unique requirements. We explore how accurate observations facilitate collaboration between practitioners, parents, and external professionals, ultimately enriching children's learning experiences.
2. Let's Talk Narrative Observations
03:48Narrative observation emerges as a prominent method, providing a detailed storytelling approach to documenting children's activities and interactions. Through narrative observations, educators gain a holistic view of children's development, assessing all areas of learning and characteristics of effective learning. This narrative format not only facilitates comprehensive assessment but also fosters engagement with parents and other stakeholders, offering a rich portrayal of children's experiences.
3. Time & Event Sampling Observations
06:10In this lesson, we explore time sample and event sample observations, each offering distinct perspectives on children's focus, attention, and social interactions. By implementing these methods, practitioners can adapt observation intervals and techniques to accommodate individual children's needs, thereby ensuring accurate and meaningful assessment. We discuss practical strategies for conducting time and event sample observations, highlighting their versatility in capturing children's behaviors and interactions over extended periods.
4. Checklist Observations
04:25Checklist observations provide a structured approach to monitoring specific developmental areas, such as cognitive, fine motor skills, and gross motor skills. By regularly assessing progress through checklists, educators can identify support needs and collaborate effectively with other professionals, ensuring comprehensive support for children's development. We explore the flexibility of checklist observations in tracking progress and discuss strategies for adapting checklists to different age groups and developmental stages.
5. The Best Of The Rest
06:28In the final lesson, we examine various alternative observation methods, including "wow" moment observations, video observations, web observations, and tracking. Each method offers unique advantages and challenges, providing practitioners with diverse tools to gather insights into children's learning and behavior. By leveraging these methods appropriately, educators can create a rich tapestry of observations, informing holistic approaches to early years education. We discuss practical considerations for implementing these methods and highlight their significance in providing a comprehensive understanding of children's development.
Though still relatively new to the world of early years I can honestly say it's become such a passion and I'm so happy I made the decision to join such a fulfilling and rewarding career. In the rush of our busy daily routines we can sometimes forget how amazing it is to see the young children under our care develop and mature throughout their early childhood. However, it is so important that we get the early childhood education right! That's why I joined the Early Years Network to help and inspire those just like me who work with young children everyday and want to make a difference.
Providing our teams with meaningful learning and development is so hard to achieve in the early years world as it's nearly impossible to find the time to complete any sort of in-person training, and everything online is usually so expensive. But since finding The Early Years Network I'm able to set classes and courses to specific team members who can then watch them whenever fits. The girls have really fallen in love with it and its great to hear them all talking about child education, their own learning and what video's they've watched recently.
Regardless if you are a standard user or a corporate user, your membership grants you access to our entire collection of Network Classes so you can begin your educational journey with us today without any limitations.
The Early Years Network is all about meaningful learning that will transform the way you interact with and educate young children, not attempting to fill your head with information for the sake of a quick superficial quiz.
Unfortunately for the time being videos are only available in English, but maybe one day...
YES! Content on The Early Years Network has been created for people interested in early years regardless of age, experience or academic background. We have something for everyone whether you are a childminder, parent/carer or an early years professional.
No, all videos are only accessible to stream online and require an internet connection in order to access the platform and watch the content.
Absolutely not, The Early Years Network has been optimised to be used on any device from your mobile phone to your tablet! Our flexible approach to learning embraces any and all types of device so you can learn anytime, anywhere!
Whilst The Early Years Network is not an accredited body we do offer skill-based learning helping people transform knowledge and theory into meaningful change and improvement to their practice, environments and curriculum. Our Network Courses are created and hosted by leading experts within their academic fields, and upon completion of each course learners will be provided with a certificate to evidence their achievement.
Of course not! You're free to cancel your membership whenever you like.
We are a learning and development platform dedicated to the magical world of early years! We cover a wide range of topics, from child brain development to the importance of safeguarding and child wellbeing, through high-quality and immersive video content.
We cover everything Early Years from ‘Cognitive Development Theories’, to the science behind play and even how to build the best rocket ship out of cardboard (you won't want to miss that video!). If you can think of a topic in early years we've probably got a video on it!
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